The White Sox announced that right-hander Jairo Iriarte and catcher Drew Romo have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Both will be in big league camp in spring training as non-roster invitees. The two were designated for assignment earlier this week as corresponding moves when the White Sox acquired Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin from the Red Sox.
Iriarte, 24, was once a notable prospect. The White Sox acquired him from the Padres two years ago as part of the return for Dylan Cease. His stock has dipped since then. In 2024, he tossed 126 Double-A innings. His 3.71 earned run average wasn’t bad but his 22.8% strikeout rate was a big drop from the 33.2% rate he had the year before. His walk rate remained high at 10.7%.
The control problems were already present before he came to the White Sox, which hinted at a potential long-term move to the bullpen. The Sox mostly used him in relief in 2025 but he didn’t take to the move. In 46 Triple-A innings, he had a 7.24 ERA. His 21.6% strikeout rate wasn’t great and his control got worse, with Iriarte walking 16.7% of batters faced.
He still has an option year remaining but that wasn’t enough to convince another club to give him a 40-man roster spot. This is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, so he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. The Sox will keep him in a non-roster capacity and try to get him back on track.
Romo, 24, was also once a prospect of note. The Rockies recently decided to move on, however, and he has been riding the waiver wire this winter. He has gone from the Rockies to the Orioles, Mets and White Sox via waivers. Now that the Sox have passed him through unclaimed, they will be the ones who get to keep him. Like Iriarte, Romo doesn’t have the right to elect free agency.
The Rockies took Romo with the 35th overall pick in 2020. Considered a strong defender, his offense was decent enough as he climbed the ladder that he was ranked as one of the top prospects in Colorado’s system and even got some top 100 love. But his stock has faded lately as he has struggled at the plate. He slashed .264/.329/.409 in Triple-A last year, which looks good at first blush but actually translates to a 75 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League.
Romo will head to Charlotte and try to get back on track. He doesn’t currently have a great path to playing time, as the Sox have Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and Korey Lee all on the roster. However, Lee is out of options and might get squeezed off. There has also been a bit of trade buzz around both Teel and Quero. It doesn’t seem like the Sox are motivated to move either but Romo’s path would improve if a deal does come together. As always, an injury could alter the calculus as well.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
Jairo disappointed from day one after coming over in the Cease trade, The guy never tapped into his potential, and he was counted on to be MLB ready.
Good wake up call when no one else claims you and didn’t care about prior ‘prospect’ potential.
I’m no soothsayer or anything, but I would have bet the house A.J. Preller was gonna take him back for his 40 Man!
He could always do well in ST and could be called up again if he does well in AAA. He’s only 24 so he has some youth on his side for now.
I’m kind of glad Jairo passed through waivers. He’s 24 years old, I still think he can show something, just needs more development.
Ticket to Peoria
LTC, he was so bad last season that they sent him to complex league ball to try to find the plate. He failed even at that low of a level.
He needs a seeing eye dog that can help him find the plate. His mechanics are all over the place.
Rueben
No harm no foul
By the luck of the draw we got these guys back. Relieves the pain of losing Bryan Ramos.
Two nice players to have in Charlotte.
Mean orlando they’ll be playing out at the old Braves field
Are the Pale Hose gonna drop any crappy second basemen? Craig Breslow is ready to pounce and add to the Red Sox keystone collection!
The “crappiest” White Sox 2B is probably Lenyn Sosa and he would be an offensive upgrade over any of the current Red Sox collection at the keystone.
They want to improve defense though
He is pretty “crappy” as a 2B, but he might be a good 1B where his defense wouldn’t matter as much.
Kiner-Falefa had a lower OPS+/wRC+, but twice the WAR. Defense matters, especially up the middle.
There’s no room for Sosa at 1B in Boston with Willson Contreras and Triston Casas already there.
There is definitely no room for Sosa at 2B in Boston. IKF is better all around and they have other options including Hamilton, Rafaela, Gonzalez and Campbell.
Casas won’t be playing 1B. Once he is healthy he is headed down the road. .
Even so, Casas hits left-handed. Sosa bats right-handed as does Contreras. I doubt the Red Sox would need two first baseman who both hit from the right side unless they’d value Sosa’s versatility across the infield.
You don’t know when to say you are wrong and stop do you? Sosa is not a fit in Boston. End of conversation.
Soon, because either Carlson, Bonemer or the 1st pick in the draft, Kochlowski: will be manning 2nd base by 2027.
None of those guys will play in the bigs in 27.
Caleb Bonemer has an advanced approach at the plate for a 20-year old prospect not even two years removed from high school. He also possesses a high baseball IQ and has been amenable to changes suggested by the White Sox hitting coaches since leaving high school. He implemented those changes through his pro debut last season, excelling at A-Kannapolis and earning Carolina League player of the year honors. He earned a late season promotion to High-A Winston-Salem and continued to produce.
Bonemar figures to begin the 2026 season at Winston-Salem and should earn a promotion to AA Birmingham with continues success. Aside from moving up the White Sox organization ladder he has also climbed rapidly in all the prospect ranking sites. Baseball America already has him pegged as the White Sox #2 prospect and at #27 on their top-100 list. If he excels again at A+ and continues that with a promotion to AA in 2026, he could end his season in the Arizona Fall League much like OF Braden Montgomery did last year. From that point on, a potential 2027 mid-season MLB debut could be a realistic projection.
As for Roch Cholowsky, the sky’s the limit. He’s already dominated with UCLA at the highest level of NCAA competition. He’s not only considered the top amateur prospect in baseball but also a generational talent at SS. If he can stay healthy and continue his domination at the college level in 2026, he’ll undoubtedly be the White Sox pick when they select first this July. Cholowsky will have just turned 21 and should begin his pro career immediately after his signing. I suspect Cholowsky might immediately debut at high-A ball and perhaps reach AA by season’s end. His advanced skill set and pedigree might even get him a spring training invite as soon as next year provided there is one. In either case, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Cholowsky as a highly productive SS at AA and AAA in 2027. If there’s a significant delay in the 2027 MLB season, it might give Cholowsky an advantage to make his White Sox debut. While all those on the MLB roster will be in limbo, Cholowsky and Bonemar should be getting real game experience at AA and perhaps AAA. A potential 2027 White Sox debut may not be likely but it is possible.for both. i’d expect each to be viable options come opening day 2028.
The White Sox also have Sam Antonacci in their infield depth who doesn’t look half bad.
He could move to corner outfield based on Wsox needs too. They did this with Riku N as well.
Sam Antonacci has a similar offensive skill set to that of Chase Meidroth. Each are elite contact hitters who also excel with their OBP. Their weakest hit tool is power. Neither has great foot speed or strong arms. That typically doesn’t profile well in the outfield with today’s nerds and with LF being their only real defensive option on the grass.
The plate discipline and bat to ball skills come first.power will come later
Looking more and more like the best part of that trade for the White Sox was Steven Wilson. Zavala has flamed out in high A, Thorpe immediately had TJ, and Iriarte can’t find the plate so he is done.
Not done: minor league depth. Still an opportunity to fix
Say what?
The best player coming over from the Padres in the Dylan Cease trade was SP Drew Thorpe. He remains the best player and figures to be a fixture in the White Sox rotation by mid-season once he completes his March 2025 TJ recovery and minor league rehab assignments.
Thorpe wasn’t just the best player in the March 2024 Cease trade. He was also a Padres centerpiece along with Michael King in the December 2023 blockbuster that sent Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees.
In case you haven’t been paying attention to Thorpe’s career prior to his TJ procedure I’ll fill you in. He was selected by the Yankees in 2nd round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from a small university in California. His college SP stats were solid enough but it was his upside that got him drafted into the second round.
Thorpe’s pro debut with NY was in 2023 at High-A ball where he was stellar in 18 starts, He was even better for his final 5 starts at AA. After the trade to the White Sox, Thorpe continued his excellence in early 2024 at AA Birmingham. He earned another promotion, skipping AAA to debut with the White Sox at Seattle on June 11, 2024.
His White Sox career had a promising beginning. In his first 7 starts, he had one clunker at Arizona in his second appearance. He allowed 2 ER’s or less in his other 6 starts, 5 of which qualified as a QS. His last 2 starts in July were a disaster with 14 ER’s in 5.2 IP’s. That pair of starts would be his last official ones until his first rehab appearance, likely in May. Thorpe was placed on the IL and eventually had season-ending surgery in September to shave down a bone spur in his right elbow.
Thorpe suffered a couple of pain-based setbacks during his offseason rehab that included a cortisone shot on January. He did report to spring training and experienced “normal” soreness as he ramped up through bullpens and live BP’s during camp. That all changed when he took the mound for his first Minor League spring start. He worked through the first inning and never made it to the second inning. His new MRI showed more ligament damage than previous scans which resulted in his March TJ surgery.
Thorpe has reported no issues this offseason as he continues his rehab. in Arizona with other White Sox pitchers. He will continue to rehab and throw in spring camp. His current estimate for a return to MLB is June 1st, 2025.
Thanks Thorpe still looks promising
Thorpe immediately had to have TJ. He won’t be back until the All Star break and his future is not assured.
The last time he pitched effectively was in AA. His short stint in the majors didn’t go well and TJ surgery, while not as devastating as a shoulder surgery, still only has an 80% success rate.
While you are gushing over him, please do a quick search for starting pitchers whose only plus pitch (60+ grade) was a changeup and their career numbers. Again, only plus pitch a changeup and not relievers, just starting pitchers. Then come on back and tell us the 3 you find that have had above average MLB careers,
June 1 2025: can’t wait
He slept through a year.
Big market team that chooses differently.
No surprise Iriarte cleared. Thought Romo might have gotten picked up.